Wakefield Council defends IT policy after Lib Dem brands it 'ridiculous' and claims it wastes taxpayers' money

Liberal Democrat councillor Tom Gordon said being forced to use a separate device for constituency work was costing taxpayer's money.

Coun Gordon, who represents Knottingley, said he "hated" the policy, which sees members only able to access council emails from a device issued by the local authority.

But the council said the move was necessary to protect residents' personal information.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Coun Gordon said: "Absolutely HATE Wakefield Councils ridiculous IT policy.

"Allowing me to access emails from my own device would: 1) save money (wouldn’t need equipment or second phone)

"2) save me hours of time (and sanity)

"3) save unnecessary travel to Wakefield deal with IT issues."

In response, the council's service director for technology, said that data security "is our top priority".

Darren Gill said: "Therefore, we have adopted a model of using council devices as they reduce the likelihood of any unauthorised access and improve the security of the information we hold, protecting the personal information of thousands of residents.

"This, and the standardisation of devices, also helps us to cost-effectively meet Cabinet Office and National Cyber Security Centre requirements.

Mr Gill added: "Whilst we understand that individuals having more control of their device can bring a degree of convenience, using council devices ensures that they are always patched to rectify any security vulnerabilities that may emerge, remain supported by the manufacturer and continue to work with other council systems."

Local Democracy Reporting Service